Covid-19 vaccine much safer than catching the virus, study finds

By Maggie Fox | CNN

A ample survey involving adjacent to 2 cardinal radical successful Israel shows the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine somewhat raises the hazard of bosom inflammation, swollen lymph nodes and shingles. But it besides finds that Covid-19 corruption raises the hazard of bosom inflammation adjacent much — positive it raises the hazard of humor clots, bosom attacks and different deadly events.

It’s the archetypal ample survey to comparison the risks of vaccination versus corruption caput to caput successful the aforesaid colonisation during the aforesaid time, and it shows the risks of corruption acold outweigh immoderate risks from the vaccine, the researchers said.

“In this survey successful a nationwide wide vaccination setting, the BNT162b2 vaccine was not associated with an elevated hazard of astir of the adverse events examined,” Dr. Ran Balicer of the Clalit Research Institute successful Tel Aviv and colleagues wrote in their report, published successful the New England Journal of Medicine.

They did find other cases of myocarditis — a benignant of bosom inflammation that’s been linked with some of the mRNA vaccines, made by Moderna and Pfizer. It added up to astir 3 other cases per 100,000 radical vaccinated, and was seen astir wholly among young men.

“The main imaginable adverse events identified included an excess hazard of lymphadenopathy (swelling of the lymph glands), herpes zoster corruption (shingles), appendicitis, and myocarditis,” they wrote.

“To spot these risks successful context, we besides examined information connected much than 240,000 infected persons to estimation the effects of a documented SARS CoV-2 corruption connected the incidence of the aforesaid adverse events,” they added.

“SARS-CoV-2 corruption was not estimated to person a meaningful effect connected the incidence of lymphadenopathy, herpes zoster infection, oregon appendicitis, but it was estimated to effect successful a important excess hazard of myocarditis.”

Covid-19 corruption raised the hazard of myocarditis by overmuch much than vaccination did — astir 11 cases per 100,000 radical vaccinated, they found.

They besides recovered immoderate surprises.

“Some initially unexpected effects were seen successful the results of the existent study. The BNT162b2 vaccine appears to beryllium protective against definite conditions specified arsenic anemia and intracranial hemorrhage,” they wrote. “These aforesaid adverse events are besides identified successful this survey arsenic complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection, truthful it appears apt that the protective effect of the vaccine is mediated done its extortion against undiagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infection,” they added.

Dr. Grace Lee, a pediatrician astatine Stanford University who chairs the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee connected Immunization Practices, said the findings supply invaluable insight.

“Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines whitethorn beryllium associated with myocarditis, but they tin besides forestall cases of myocarditis, acute kidney injury, arrhythmia, and thromboembolic disease,” Lee, who was not progressive successful the study, wrote successful a commentary.

“The cardinal to comparing these risks depends connected the hazard of SARS-CoV-2 corruption to an idiosyncratic person, and that hazard tin alteration according to spot and implicit time. Given the existent authorities of the planetary pandemic, however, the hazard of vulnerability to SARS-CoV-2 appears to beryllium inevitable.”

Last June, the US Food and Drug Administration added a informing astir hazard of myocarditis and a related inflammatory information called pericarditis to accusation sheets for the Covid-19 mRNA vaccines.

Doctors accidental it is important to diagnose the information rapidly but is easy treated and patients retrieve with small trouble.

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